A game that PRODUCES lots of memes = a good game?

[sifffffff]

My point is games don't create the memes. Example: In Skyrim all of the guards may make the comment that they've taken an arrow to the knee. Funny, but this is just another example of something that happens in games all the time. See also: Nolan North talking to Nolan North in Mafia 2.

It was a douchebag who decided to take the "arrow to the knee" quote and use it on a forum or youtube comment channel. From there it was another douchebag who said "is funny hahaha hohoho!" and posted the same thing. Then it became a snowball of douchebaggery until it reached the jersey shore critcal mass of douchebaggery and it just became annoying.

 

[hermes]

Not really an indicator of quality but an indicator of popularity in the community.

The nerd community is very propense to creating memes (I guess its our attempt at a "secret club language", like an internal joke), so games that are very popular in the nerd community often spawn a couple meme, even when the references itself are not used that much (like in Portal: the "cake is a lie" graffiti was found in one room, and the companion cube appears in only one level).

Of course, they tend to get used without context and get annoying after a while, but that is not the game's fault.

Games that references memes or try to force memes, on the other hand, are extremely lazily written. I rolled my eyes when I found the cake reference in Castlevania...

 

[GrimGrimoire]

Memes are stupid. I long for the day that they fall off.

You have clarelt misunderstood what a "Meme" really is. Read up on it, it is more than "I used to be a X like you, but then I took an Y in the Z".

I belive that "Memes" is a part of human nature, and therefore cannot be "stopped".

OT: Good games does not produce memes, memorable games create memes.

 

[MrTub]

Star ruler is a good game and it has no memes (at least what I know)

 

[Pinkamena]

But... A game can be good, without spawning any memes.

 

[DarthFennec]

I think you've got it backwards. It's not that games are better because they produce memes. It's that games that are good tend to be more memorable than games that are mediocre, and memorable things tend to produce memes. This is true for things that are memorably terrible as well.

Memeless good games? I don't know, I can't really think of any. Things like Portal and Portal 2 obviously have memes attached to them ... actually all Valve games do. I was thinking maybe the Silent Hill games didn't, except I can think of at least a few off the top of my head, so no. Minecraft does, Pokemon definitely does ... oh, how about Psychonauts? I don't think I've ever heard a Psychonauts meme. There are probably others, but they're few and far between.

The thing is, memes generally like to come from repeated references, and you don't often repeat a reference or make a reference at all to things unless they're memorable. The power of a meme comes from reminiscence, people who understand the reference remember back to that part or parts of the game and, if it was particularly memorable, they're likely to repeat the same to someone else. If someone makes a spacecore reference I'll remember back to how much fun the final scene in Portal 2 was, or if someone says `There was a hole here, it's gone now' I'll remember how much fun I had playing Silent Hill 2, and how interesting it was to come across that bit in the game. The idea is, if people really like something or really dislike something, or if it was really weird or it really sticks in their mind for some other reason, they are more likely to repeat it, and it has a chance of becoming a meme. So, even though memes may be terribly dull and annoying within themselves, they're a mark of something extremely memorable, for the most part.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Memes are stupid. I long for the day that they fall off.

The most correct response of the topic.
Parroting the same line over and over isn't creative, funny or interesting, it's just stupid and annoying.

Nevermind that great games don't necessarily produce memes.

 

[Something Amyss]

Sicne really bad games (And movies, and comics, and TV) also spawn a lot of memes, I'd say no.

 

[DioWallachia]

I think you've got it backwards. It's not that games are better because they produce memes. It's that games that are good tend to be more memorable than games that are mediocre, and memorable things tend to produce memes. This is true for things that are memorably terrible as well.

Memeless good games? I don't know, I can't really think of any. Things like Portal and Portal 2 obviously have memes attached to them ... actually all Valve games do. I was thinking maybe the Silent Hill games didn't, except I can think of at least a few off the top of my head, so no. Minecraft does, Pokemon definitely does ... oh, how about Psychonauts? I don't think I've ever heard a Psychonauts meme. There are probably others, but they're few and far between.

The thing is, memes generally like to come from repeated references, and you don't often repeat a reference or make a reference at all to things unless they're memorable. The power of a meme comes from reminiscence, people who understand the reference remember back to that part or parts of the game and, if it was particularly memorable, they're likely to repeat the same to someone else. If someone makes a spacecore reference I'll remember back to how much fun the final scene in Portal 2 was, or if someone says `There was a hole here, it's gone now' I'll remember how much fun I had playing Silent Hill 2, and how interesting it was to come across that bit in the game. The idea is, if people really like something or really dislike something, or if it was really weird or it really sticks in their mind for some other reason, they are more likely to repeat it, and it has a chance of becoming a meme. So, even though memes may be terribly dull and annoying within themselves, they're a mark of something extremely memorable, for the most part.

With the critical acclaim that Psychonauts is getting as a lost gem lately, you did think that this game will be like the Citizen Kane of video gaming. And munch like that movie, it would at least have lots of memorable moments that eventually get parodied around the times (hell, how many of us know the parodies of the movie than the actual movie??).

And yet, we never see any mention of the Conspiracy Stage with this gem "I am The Milkman, my milk is delicious" is not weird and memorable enough for Psychonauts?? i guess that the memorable impact was ruined because of the Trilby clones around the lvl. Assuming that most people played 6 Days a Sacrifice before Spychonauts because Yathzee told them too

 

[him over there]

Games don't make memes fans make memes, simple as that. All you need is a quotable line or funny glitch and hope you have enough people to spread it around out of context on a completely comment section and hope it takes off.

 

[Kimarous]

A game's quality and the number of associated means is mere correlation, not causation. Not all games that have a ton of related memes are "good." Case in point: CDI Zelda.

 

[PurePareidolia]

Darkseed 2 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BINXO02RZTY] is infintely quotable [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFRZHkVlk30] but it's a terrible terrible game.

It's kind of old so you probably won't have heard of it, but this part of the retsupurae will explain everything [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK8mC5iH2zE].

 

[OneOfTheMichael's]

Memes are just things made up that either exploit a funny slogan or habit of a character in a game or pointing out the bugs of a game.
If you think at all that the more popular a game with a lot of memes is at all a good game...you could be mistaken false.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution was an average game at best, but I find the memes to be funny as hell.

The fanbase has made some hilarious stuff, but this is my favorite.

 

[Mr.PlanetEater]

Darkseed 2 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BINXO02RZTY] is infintely quotable [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFRZHkVlk30] but it's a terrible terrible game.

It's kind of old so you probably won't have heard of it, but this part of the retsupurae will explain everything [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK8mC5iH2zE].

"Hall of Death did you kill Rita?" ;p
Sorry couldn't resist the obvious joke. That said I agree with everything you've said and more, games that spawn memes do not instantly become good games. Case in point Darkseed 2 and any of the CDI games.

 

[DioWallachia]

I wouldn't say so.

Look at "The Room" (Not a videogame, but it can still count) It has countless memes dedicated to it "O Hai X" "O Hai Doggie" "Football!" "I did not hit her, I did naaaaaaaaaaawt!" Yet it still has horrible acting and is memorable mostly for it's amazing narminess and bad writing.

I will agree that "The Room" sucks but apparently people believe its good for actually producing such....gems

 

[Lancer873]

Serious Sam. The most "meme abuse" there is is people doing a call-and-response on some Youtube videos:
"AAAAAAAAAAAA"
"AAAAAAAAA yourself!"
It doesn't spread onto videos that aren't about Serious Sam. And Bastion doesn't have any memes at all that I've seen...

The "AAAAAAAAAAAAA" meme feels like the Spychonauts meme of "I am The Milkman, my milk is delicious" because you cant just spam it everywhere without context. At least that is what i fell like. In fact, i wonder how many developers go for the "meme worthy" appeal to make sure the game gets well know

You are right about Bastion.............unless someone makes a contest of "Who has the best sliky voice: The VA of Rucks or Morgan Freeman" (I dont know the name of the Voice Actor of Rufus, please let me know)

You're missing Steven Fry.

OT: I'd say it has to do with popularity... to be more accurate: fame, or infamy as some cases may be. "YOU'RE WINNER" did not arise from a particularly good game.